Slow Down
by GenericDude
Summary: After 'saving' Nah from drowning during a march through the marshland, Brady finds himself faced with a problem regarding her sudden affections towards him. Based on the support conversations between Brady and Nah in Fire Emblem: Awakening.
1. Chapter 1

Slow Down

Chapter 1: Heebie-Jeebies

"I knew I shoulda used up the last of that healing staff…damn it!"

Brady had a big problem with his staves. He was never satisfied with charging into the heat of the action with a half used stave. One of Brady's biggest fears stemmed from a past experience he had with a staff breaking on him during a battle. He remembered the moment with despair: an attempt to use his rescue staff on his father, Frederick, had failed when it broke mid-use, cutting the teleportation process dead. Frederick, hovering through the air as he was being 'rescued', was suddenly dropped into a nearby ravine, effectively taking him out of the battle and leaving the rest to clear up the hoard of Risen that had appeared. Brady could remember the verbal beating he received from his father after the wet experience.

However, now standing inside the large convoy tent which held the Shepherds' mass of unused, stored surplus, Brady was faced with a problem. The group's war chest had run slightly dry after the funds had to be sacrificed for the purchase of food. This meant that Brady could not buy a new healing staff, which left him with many half-used, almost depleted staves. His pet peeve.

"Gah, what was I thinkin'?" he cursed silently to himself as he looked at the seven staves he had laid out in the center of the tent on the grass. Aside for the entrance, the tent was filled to the brim with crates of weaponry, surrounded by the odd sword, axe or tome lying about and a series of wheelbarrows and carts for transportation. Brady shot his gaze at his surroundings, exasperated.

"Surely there's gotta be a clean healing staff I ain't used yet…" he mumbled to himself, turning slowly as he surveyed the room. His eyes fell upon each and every crate in turn, checking them off a list in his mind. With no success, he had searched nearly every box in the room for a good staff to use for Chrom's upcoming march. And he'd be damned if he was going to take up all of his possible carrying space with half used, faulty staves. What was worst was the fact that he couldn't ask Lissa or even his mother, Maribelle, for a spare healing staff; half the staves laid out on the floor were on loan to him.

Sighing, he continued to look around, until a figure caught the corner of his eye. As soon as it did, a voice spoke out.

"Ah!" it yelped. "B-Brady…"

Brady's body jolted as the voice caught him off guard. He didn't yelp in surprise but his chest pulsed quickly inwards as he was caught off guard. Spinning on his heel, he saw where the voice came from: Nah. She was stood there in her red cloak, looking up towards him; the staves created distance between the two. Trying his best to hide the shock he'd received, he cleared his throat quickly.

"Yeah?" he asked brashly. "Whatcha want?" Brady's eyes caught sight of Nah's eyes staring directly at him. Her hands were intertwined tightly with each other.

"I don't, er…" Nah stammered, clearly flustered. Brady could see that she was desperately trying to keep her composure; Nah looked visibly nervous. Brady started to lift one of his eyebrows in order to try and garner a response.

"…Nothing in particular" Nah finished. Brady felt his patience already thinning; there was no way he had time for this. If he didn't find a good healing staff quickly, the next trip wasn't going to be a pleasant one for him.

"Then why ya eyeballin' me?" he questioned, eyebrow rising once more. He took his hands away from their sides and opened them out, illustrating his impatience. "You got something to say or what?" Nah retracted a little, staking a step back and lowering her head.

"N-nothing!" she answered, feigning sternness. The scene was reminiscent of a head teacher punishing a school child. Brady waved his hands again in further exasperation.

"Then what?" he continued. "Something wrong with you? You coming down with something?"

"N-no, nothing like that" Nah replied, shaking her head. She then closed her eyes slightly and raised her head. Her gaze started to move away from Brady, as if she were avoiding him. Brady sighed, putting one arm down whilst gesturing towards Nah with his other hand, waving it up and down as if displaying her to an audience. Or herself.

"Well, you ain't ACTING fine" he accused, taking a few steps around the neatly laid staves to approach her, which caused her to step back a little in fright. His voice lowered slightly as he noticed the sounds of training diminishing slightly outside. Worried that his voice would trail out of the tent, he hushed his voice a little. "It's freaking me out! You don't go all quiet when you talk to any of the others"

"That's not true!" Nah retorted sharply, jumping in fright suddenly afterwards from the loudness of her voice. It shook her composure again as she retreated slightly. "Er, no, it is, but…" Her stuttering had revealed itself again, but she refused to let herself fall weak, despite Brady's intense, critical glare on her. "I'm not being quiet!" she defended. "I'm the same as always…"

Brady's patience had gone. He had no time for games; as his eyes shot towards the staves on the floor, he realized that there was little time left for him to work out his problems.

"Sure, fine" he dismissed monotonously, giving up. "Whatever" He turned around and waved his arms in exasperation once again, strutting back towards one of the crates to continue his search for a healing staff. He opened up the cap for one of the boxes and looked inside; it was full of swords. Releasing a desperate sigh, he slid the cover back on the box and turned around. Nah was still standing there, now looking at him again. Brady didn't quite understand this girl; he hadn't known her very long and this was their first interaction that hadn't taken place on the battlefield. Noticing that she wasn't going to move, he decided to pursue the mystery in front of him. He leant back on the box he examined, wiping his forehead.

"…You scared of me? Is that it?" he asked, looking at his hand. He then looked towards Nah again; she still hadn't moved. Gesturing to himself, he said: "I give ya the heebie-jeebies?"

Nah crossed her arms together, snorting quietly.

"I'm not scared!" she said defiantly, a stance that confused Brady to no end. "Why would I be scared? That's crazy talk! You're crazy!" She pointed an accusing finger at him whilst she said her piece. Brady was struggling to understand the change in attitude: first she was shy, and now she was accusing him of being the crazy one. Brady snorted in response, crossing his own arms and turning his head to the side, looking at the grassy floor inside the tent.

"Oh, really?" he retorted.

"Y-yes, really…I'm not!" Nah continued. Brady sensed her confidence falling once again. His mind cast to the task at hand: it was clear that there were no healing staves in the convoy tent that were to his level of satisfaction. He would have to continue his search elsewhere. Lifting himself up from the crate, he started for the exit of the tent.

"Well, whatever it is, I ain't sticking around so you can gawk" he grumbled as he walked towards the exit, his eyes looking away from Nah. "I'm gonna fade" Nah watched as he walked towards the exit before turning the corner and vanishing from sight. As soon as he left, she sighed heavily, letting her body droop.

"I j-just wanted to talk…" she said out loud to herself, as if Brady were still in the tent, listening. She hushed her tone, closing her eyes. Brady's face appeared in her vision, with his messy hair and scarred eye.

"When I see that face, though, I clam up…" he thought. "It's not my fault he looks so scary!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Embarrassed Half to Death

Brady was known for never having much luck. His search for a good healing staff had failed, which forced him to improvise by delegating to defense duty on the travelling convoy. Clutching his trusted hand-axe, he remained at the back of the convoy with his Frederick, shooting the breeze. Their conversation would be constantly interrupted by Brady's head jolting at the sound of anything loud, be it the wind in the trees or a horse whinnying. Brady didn't have any time for an attack.

But what he didn't see coming on that day of travel was a situation that would literally take him off of his feet.

As he walked, he answered a question posed by his father.

"I ain't scared of bein' attacked or nothin'" he defended, his wary attitude being brought to light by his father. Frederick chuckled in response, sitting upon his armored horse.

"Did you know that they call me Frederick the Wary amongst the Shepherds?" he revealed. "It appears you must have inherited it from me, hah hah!"

Brady chuckled in response as he spied his surroundings. They were in the thick forest, the canopy blocking out the majority of the sunlight. The uneven ground meant that the convoy moved rather slowly through the woods; the pegasus knights of the group were flying above the trees. The sounds of their wings flapping in the sky could be heard down beneath the canopy. The small flecks of sunlight that did successfully pass through the canopy created a curtain of rays that illuminated the dark forest, creating a mystical atmosphere.

Whilst he chuckled, his ears attuned to a different conversation that was occurring at the center of the brigade. The conversation was between Chrom and Nowi, who seemed to be having a brief chat about Nah.

"Nowi, where has Nah gone?"

"She said she could smell some berries around here, so she went to go and find them"

"Are you sure that's a wise thing to do? I'd rather not have to stop the convoy to search for her"

"She'll be fine, Chrom, you don't have to worry! Manaketes have an excellent sense of direction; she'll find her way back in no time! Plus, I can smell her scent from here anyhow, so if I lose that, I'll let you know"

"I thought the taguel would be the ones with the enhanced sense of smell"

"They do, but we've got it too for certain stuff…like berries and other manaketes"

"Strange. Well, you are her mother, so I guess you know best. We'll keep moving, but if she's not here by the time we emerge from the forest, we'll need to stop and go find her"

"H-help! I'm drowning!"

The last voice belonged to neither Chrom nor Nowi. Brady stopped suddeny as he heard the voice. Chrom was the second to hear the voice. Looking up, he started to dart his eyes around, the situation dawning on him.

"Who's screaming?" he called. Nowi recognized the voice at once, gasping.

"It's Nah!" she cried, suddenly starting to panic. A wave of distress shot through the convoy as the situation unfolded.

"Stop the march!" Chrom ordered, halting the entire group with the sound of his voice. Brady quickly looked around, feeling his heart beating faster in fear as another scream emitted from within the woods. The voice definitely belonged to Nah; Brady grunted and ran towards the middle of the convoy where Chrom was standing. Chrom had summoned Frederick to his side.

"Frederick, ride ahead to the clearing and tell the pegasus riders that we've stopped" Chrom explained, trying to remain calm amidst the unrest. Frederick, calm as ever, understood his order and rode with speed through the woods, vanishing from sight within seconds. Chrom then started to talk with Nowi, trying to calm her down as she started to cry. Brady knew that Nowi could smell Nah out, but time was of the essence.

"Help me!" Nah screamed again, her voice echoing through the woods and across the convoy.

"Everyone start looking, now!" Chrom yelled, his order causing everyone to look about in a frenzied manner. Brady ran to the edge of the convoy, concentrating as much as he could. The screaming seemed to be quite clear; she couldn't be far. Scanning intensely into the innards of the woods, he prayed that he'd locate the source of the voice. Just as another cry for help came from the woods, Brady spotted something that nobody else had found. A bank of rippling water.

It had to be, he thought. Without thought, he dropped his hand axe and started to sprint as fast as he could.

"Nah!" he yelled out as he ran, tearing away from the group as he vanished amongst the trees.

"Brady, help me!" a yell responded. Brady confirmed the yell to be Nah's clear as day. He was close; as he maneuvered past numerous trunks and clumsily jumped over the heaving roots of the trees beneath his feet, he noticed that he was approaching what resembled a swamp. The rippling bank soon emerged to be a bigger pool of stagnant, dark water, located in a small clearing. To Brady's fear, Nah was in the middle, thrashing at the surface.

Relieved to have found her, Brady felt the hero emerge in him. Making a final heroic hop over a large tree trunk, he had a clear space to sprint to the bank. He'd be damned is he was going to let a fellow member of the convoy drown today, he thought. He might not have any staves on him, but he knew that wasn't going to stop him from doing his job: saving people.

Clomping through the mud, which stained his robes to no end, he reached the bank. Having gathered momentum, he took a deep breath.

"Brady's comin'!" he shouted, leaping off the bank and positioning himself into a dive position. He didn't think twice about where he was diving; he had to save Nah. Breath held, he entered the freezing cold water.

Suddenly, just as soon as he broke through the face of the water, he felt his face crash into something hard. A jolt ran down his spine and Brady felt his entire body contort within the water. Losing all feeling, his mind blanked out.

He could vaguely remember picking Nah up out of the surprisingly shallow water and taking her to the bank. He could also remember collapsing comically on the bank, dropping Nah in the process. Apart from that, everything else was a blur before the force of the impact caused Brady to fall unconscious.

Disbelief was the first thing that was on his mind when he came to. Just the other day they were having the most awkward conversation, then the next day he found himself knocking himself out on accident, fearing that she was going to die. Brady was known for never having much luck, after all.

He was informed by Chrom that the convoy had set up camp outside of the forest perimeter for the night. Clothed in light cotton garb, Brady was laying in a bed with his torso and head propped up against large pillows, his lower body covered by a quilt. The moment he came to, he grimaced at the fact that he was in the camp infirmary. What was worse was the fact that he was alone; which meant he was the only member of the team to be injured that day. The final nail in the coffin was the fact that he had injured himself.

After Chrom had left the room, he was tended to by Lissa, having his concussion healed ironically by the half used staves he had laid out in the tent the previous day. He didn't say a word, it felt as if he were drowning himself in embarrassment. At least he knew the pool wasn't three foot deep; at the very least his pool of embarrassment wouldn't give him a second concussion. Such thoughts reeled in his head well after Lissa had left him and the sun sunk into the horizon, bringing the night.

As he finished his bear thigh, he watched as Lissa returned to the infirmary tent, taking his plate.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Grand" Brady hummed quietly.

"You're quite lucky" Lissa explained. "Your back's surprisingly resilient. A good night's rest here and you should be back in shape for tomorrow's march" she explained. Cracking that Brady wasn't in the mood to talk, she quietly left, leaving Brady to his own thoughts.

The infirmary tent contained only the one bed, occupied by Brady for the night. Brady was no stranger to the tent, although it would usually be him tending to the wounded, instead of the other way around. He wasn't even wounded as such, the concussion had been fully dealt with by the healing staves. He could have stood up and walked right out of the ten if he had pleased. He could take the lantern by his bedside and go for a walk if it pleased him.

But he didn't. He wasn't in the mood for that.

Quietly reading away at a book, he didn't notice a figure walking into the tent. It wasn't until the figure stood right by his bedside that he noticed someone there. Looking up, he saw it was Nah, dressed in new robes, considering her old ones were soaked in swamp water.

"Nah!" Brady said in surprise, putting the book away. "You all right?" He felt oddly glad to see her, despite the embarrassment she'd caused him.

"B-Brady?" she stuttered, much to Brady's disappointment. Why would she bother talking to him if she was going to be scared? But Nah quickly gathered her composure before Brady had the chance to make a point of her attitude.

"I'm fine" she said calmly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Brady started to chuckle, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Uh, because you nearly drowned back there?" he pointed out, gesturing his head to the direction of the woods. "You sure you're okay?" Brady couldn't remember much of the incident, but he did catch the sight of sheer panic and fear on Nah's face before he dove in and struck his head against the bottom of the pool.

"Absolutely" Nah replied, a small smile appearing on her face. A look of skepticism appeared on Brady's face. "Really, I'm fine…thanks to you" She then looked down, her expression shy. "At least, I heard it was you who dove in and saved me. My memory is still pretty hazy"

Brady grunted in response, clenching his fist as it rested on his leg.

"Ugh, who told ya?" he asked, looking towards Nah, who met his eyes. "I asked everybody not to make a big thing outta it…" He gestured to the exit, as of everybody else was gathered outside. It was true; he had specifically asked Chrom to keep it under wraps, but it appeared that Brady the Hero was the talk of the camp that night. However, upon saying that, Nah retaliated passionately, clutching her hands together as she lifted them to her heart.

"But it is a big thing, Brady!" she argued, a twinkle in her eye. "Especially to me. So, thank you"

A warm feeling bubbled in Brady's chest. There was something quite sweet about Nah, he thought. She seemed to innocent, he felt almost privileged to have 'saved' her from drowning. He gave her a wink, chuckling a little.

"Aw, it was nothin'" he said, flattered by the thanks we was getting. He almost felt like a hero, lying on the infirmary bed in front of the girl he'd rescued. Now he knew how Frederick must have felt when he dropped him into the ravine, save for the 'thanks' being replaced by 'sorry'.

Nah's brows furrowed slightly as she listened to Brady's humbled response. She wasn't satisfied by his acceptance and leant slightly over the bed.

"Nothing?" she questioned. "I could have died!" Brady raised his eyebrow, feeling confused once again.

"Not sure how" he pointed out. "That water was three feet deep, and that's bein' generous"

Nah's face flushed red as Brady reminded her of the fact that it was nigh on impossible to drown in a pool so shallow. She looked down in shame as her face flushed red.

"Augh…please, don't remind me" she sighed, lowering her hands. "I'm embarrassed half to death as it is" Brady looked at Nah in slight exasperation, lifting his arms to illustrate his feelings.

"What about me?" he moaned, cocking his head a little. "I heard you shout for help, so I dove in thinkin' it was deep! Nearly telescoped my damn spine!" His complaint was met by silence. Nah was still looking down in shame, and before long, Brady couldn't hold his complaint. Sighing, he put his hands down and went to pat Nah gently on the back.

"But, hey, I guess we both pulled through" he noted as he rubbed her back, before leaning back against his pillows. "Just be careful in the future, yeah?"

Nah suddenly looked up, her eyes opening. A smile started to appear on her mouth, revealing her immaculately straight, white teeth.

"…You're worried for me?" she asked quietly, her smile intact. Brady felt slightly intimidated by the sudden happiness Nah was displaying; he sat up straight on the bed and scratched his back.

"What?" he said as he reached for his back. He felt slightly nervous and itchy. "W-well, sure, Nah! We're on the same team, ain't we?"

There was a short silence between the two. Brady distracted himself as much as he could, but he couldn't escape Nah's gaze. Eventually, he had to look at her, and he did. She had kept her eyes on him throughout the silence. He watched as he eyelids seemed to relax.

"…You're actually really sweet, you know that?" she said suddenly, after the long silence had passed. Her compliment was met by a look of confusion of Brady's face.

"What?" he asked. "Where'd that come from?" Nah then leant back, giving Brady a little space.

"I had you wrong" she revealed, her smile receding, but still present. "I thought you were colder…scarier"

Almost in triumph, Brady raised his hand and clicked his fingers.

"So you WERE scared of me!" he spoke victoriously. "I knew it!" Nah took a step back, her brow furrowing with worry again.

"But not any more!" she said, trying to defend Brady. "Now I know you're a really good, kind-hearted person!" Unused to such praise, Brady started to blush a little himself. He now found himself hiding his face a little.

"Gah, stop already" he pleaded quietly, retreating into his pillows slightly. "I ain't used to praise. It feels almost as weird to hear ya say that as it does you calling me scary!"

Nah shook her head in response, straightening her figure and placing her hands behind her back. Her confidence had returned in full now.

"Good people should be recognized as such" she stated clearly, nodding her head in self-agreement. "…Which is why I'm making a point of telling everyone in camp what a sweetie you are" Before Brady could process what he had just heard and protest, Nah turned her back to him and walked out of the infirmary. His thoughts gathering at a fast pace, he started to sputter out his response.

"Hey, hold on!' he called as Nah disappeared from the exit. "You don't gotta be tellin' no one nothin', see?"

His efforts were futile. She didn't return. Slapping a hand to his head, he groaned. This was going to be some trouble, he thought. Still, he found himself liking her a lot more than he did before, which was new. This, he accepted. However, he felt frightened of what Nah was aiming to do. Was his social integrity at stake? For Brady, he could only see how the next few days would go.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Human-Manakete Relations

The next few days of travelling caused Brady to think once again about his current relationship with Nah. There was something about her that was making him feel unnerved, uncomfortable even. The first day or two seemed to be okay, but as the days went on, Brady started to realize that there was a big problem between the two.

Nah wouldn't stop following him.

Every time the convoy prepared to travel, Brady would be assigned his position within the march. However, with every march, he always found that Nah was adjacent to him. In front of him, behind him, to his left or right (but never diagonal), every march she was stood beside him in one place or another. He had dismissed the first couple of marches as coincidence. However, with every passing march, he'd noticed Nah's behavior around him. She'd usually say hi, but other than that, all she would do was stay near him. If he had to be frank, he wasn't really happy with it. Even when a bout of the Risen or a battle would call for him to take up his axe and staff, Nah would always be right next to him. It helped when she was smashing her enemies into dust, but did she always have to stand so near to him when he was trying to heal someone?

Brady couldn't really call Nah out on her behavior when they were marching. The last thing he needed was to cause drama within the march. He'd cracked that Nah wasn't quite the normal person; her erratic behavior seemed to switch from composed to fluster in a matter of seconds. Despite his fondness for her, having her following him around every second of the day was starting to get annoying.

When the convoy had set up camp outside of an abandoned fortress, Brady set off towards his personal tent, sweating from the strenuous march. His tent was small and humble; it held inside a small pillow and blanket that constituted as his bed, a small crate with his possessions inside and a lantern for light. There were also a couple of books that he had for reading during the sleepless nights. Kneeling into his tent, Brady removed his robes and slid a white vest on, laying his staff on his bed, before stretching his back and yawning. The march had left his feet and legs quite dirty, not to mention the amount he had sweated during the trip. He relished the fact that he was one of the few people who were allowed to bathe today, based on a roster organized by Chrom. A bath and bed, he thought. Perfect.

Turning around, he jolted in fright again as he saw Nah standing right in front of him, still dressed in her red robe and marching gear. Unbelievable, Brady thought. Not content with following him during marches, she was now following him around camp. He could already tell that he was getting strange looks from a couple of passers by. Sighing, he scratched his head and adjusted his eyes to look down at Nah, who was a head's height shorter than him.

"Um, Nah?" he asked, preparing his point in his head. He had to tell her now, before things could get out of hand.

"Yes, Brady?" she replied, a small smile on her face. Her pearly teeth were showing again, Brady felt envious of her teeth, whishing his could be just as straight and shiny. He looked around him with a critical eye, making sure nobody was watching them outside of his tent, before looking down at Nah again.

"Is it me…" he begun, choosing his words carefully. "…or have you been following me around constantly the last few days? Did you, uh…need something?" He couldn't quite figure out Nah's motive for following him, yet he restrained himself from losing his patience with her as he did before.

"Do I need to need something to be around you?" she asked innocently, with Brady's subtle point flying right over her head. However, she did have a point, and Brady did feel like a fair verbal battle with her.

"Are ya talkin' legally?" he asked, opening his hand out as he asked. "…'Cause then I guess not" He started to walk towards the direction of the middle sized blue tent positioned near the river, where the water for bathing would be taken, cleaned and heated up. Brady expected Nah to follow him, which she did.

"Also, I'll be introducing myself as your little sister from now on" she suddenly revealed, stopping Brady in his tracks. "Just so you know"

"Wait, what?" Brady asked as he stopped, turning to look at Nah again. He watched as she smiled, standing up on her toes and holding her hands behind her back. Her head cocked slightly as she chuckled a little.

"I always wanted a nice, protective older brother" she explained to a gob smacked Brady, who had only just processed her words and realized what she was saying. "I'd say rescuing me from drowning qualifies you as nice and protective, no?"

Brady had learnt to be patient with Nah by this point, but even this was going too far for him. He didn't deny it: he liked Nah, he liked her quirkiness and was starting to get used to her swinging moods. However, for her to consider him a brother after such a short while didn't sit well with him.

"Yeah, but not as your brother!" Brady retorted. Despite trying to concede some points to her, Nah let the point fly over her head again.

"Oh, don't worry" she reassured, putting a hand on Brady's arm (much to his surprise). "I'm sure you'll fall into the role with practice" Brady subtly moved Nah's hand away from his hand with his own, stuttering at the prospect that Nah was making him face. He didn't want to be her brother, he thought. Why was she trying to progress their relationship so quickly?

"That's not the…" he begun, before tripping up on his words. "Gah, I don't even…" He didn't want to say the wrong thing. Brady wanted all options available to him, and his muddled words reflected that.

"Plus, I still feel terrible for thinking my poor, misunderstood brother was scary" Nah continued, a hint of sadness appearing in her eyes momentarily. "I'll make it up to you from here on as your doting, adorable little sis!"

"_Good grief_" Brady thought. "_This girl's nuts! She ain't lettin' me get a word in!_" Brady cleared his throat in an attempt to convey some clarity to Nah.

"I told ya!" he spoke loudly and clearly, hunching slightly to match her height. "Ain't nothin' to make up for!" he watched as Nah stepped down from her toes, her face suddenly becoming serious.

"Every debt left unpaid is a threat to the stability of human-manakete relations" she recited, as if from a handbook. Brady let out a frustrated sigh, his patience once again thinning.

"That your overblown way of saying you're too stubborn to back down on this?" he asked. An end to the conversation was what Brady was seeking; his bath could have already been poured by now. The last thing he wanted was a cold bath.

Nah nodded to his question in response, ever defiant against Brady's frustrations. Watching her nod, Brady stood back up straight, yawning a little.

"Fine then" he conceded, flapping his arms slightly. "Do what you want". He stretched his arms for a lengthy amount of time. Nah stood and watched. Finishing his stretch, he quickly remembered something and looked down at Nah again.

"But ditch the brother-sister stuff!" he warned, his face flushing slightly red. Hushing his voice, he put a hand to the side of his mouth. "Folks might get the wrong idea…" Nah closed her eyes in sadness and sighed, allowing her body to droop slightly. Her head followed suit as she looked at the floor in disappointment.

"Oh, all right" she huffed. "It's a grave shame, but I'll concede the point"

Brady was surprised at the response. She had finally allowed him a point in their verbal showdown. For some reason, Brady felt the urge to smile. Hiding it, he gave a nod to Nah.

"Well, now that's that settled" he sighed, relaxed that the battle was at its end. "See you around, Nah"

He started to walk, but suddenly realized that Nah had started to follow him. Brady groaned to himself; was she really thinking she was going to get away with following him to the bath tent? Did she even know that he was going for a bath? Stopping, he turned around again, taking a breath to ready himself.

"But I make no such concession with regards to following you around!" Nah spoke, cutting off Brady's attempt to scold her. He really wondered if she knew where he was going.

"…Uh, hold on a second here" he said, putting his hand out, revealing his palm to her as if he were stopping her. Nah maneuvered her face around his hand and stood right up to Brady, getting up on her toes again. Brady was caught by surprise, taking a quick step back; he didn't expect Nah to get so close to him.

"I intend to stay by your side until I manage to repay my debt to you" Nah said staunchly, refusing to let her obligation go. Brady sighed, desperate to shake her off. The last place he wanted Nah following him was into the bath tub.

"Y-yeah, but there's gotta be SOME exceptions! Right?" Brady growled, feeling the need to gain control of the situation. If he let Nah follow him, there had to be rules, he thought. "Like, I don't really want ya following me where I'm headed now…" He shot a gaze to the bathing tent, trying to illustrate his point. No reaction from Nah. Brady sighed and rubbed a hand across his face.

"…By which I mean I expressly forbid ya from following me" he explained, trying his absolute best not to tell Nah where he was going. "Got it?"

But Nah still didn't get it. Her face displayed her worry as she stepped up towards Brady again.

"What? Why?" she asked, her voice rising slightly. "Where are you going?"

Brady hated to make a scene, but as he spotted some of his fellow companions strolling nearby where his exchange was taking place, he knew he had to tell her.

"To take a bath!" he revealed, pointing towards the bathing tent. He saw the shock appear instantly on Nah's face as his own face flushed red with embarrassment.

"Eep!" Nah yelled, jumping back suddenly. Her pale cheeks flushed completely red as she struggled to control her composure. "S-sorry! I'll, um…I'll see you around, Brady!" With a quick wave, Nah quickly retreated into the darkness. Unable to believe how naïve she had been, Brady stood still, watching her vanish into the darkness. Tutting, he shook his head and chuckled to himself, before turning his back to where she had been standing and proceeded towards the bathing tent, hoping that his bath hadn't gone cold during the exchange.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Slow Down

He just didn't know what to think of her anymore. Any normal man in his eyes would have given up by this point. They would have screamed or shouted, they would have lost their temper, their patience would have snapped, he thought. But not him. For some reason, his notions allowed his patience to persevere, and day by day, the dreaded thoughts of romance that plagued him through the nights had become easier and easier to deal with. Sitting by the table within the barracks, staring at the swords propped up against the wall, he contemplated where he thought his relationship with her was going.

He really liked her. Brady and Nah. What an odd pair to see together, he thought. She didn't seem to annoy him so much anymore, even when she was following him around constantly. She wasn't a nuisance. Strangely, he felt as if she were becoming a part of him by being at his side, with or without his compliance. Nah would still constantly follow him, and on occasion she would ask a question or two, to which Brady would reply in his usual, dry manner. It was so strange how neither of them had given up on each other by now.

He studied the sharp edges of the swords. Brady knew himself that he had never been involved with anybody outside of his family so deeply before. Despite living in the past, he knew his own past well. A recluse. Enjoying the company of very few people. Never socializing with women. A failure at academics. A priest by chance.

However now, he suddenly felt somewhat invigorated. The only choices he ever had to make were made for him, which was why a person like him became a priest. For once, he now had the decision in his own hands. What was he going to do with Nah? Were they to remain friends? Or did he dare to venture beyond friendship for the first time in his life? He knew for a fact that human-manakete relationships weren't a taboo of any kind: Nah's mother, Nowi, ended up marrying a human herself, although Brady had never taken the time to find out who it was she married.

There were still things that Brady had to get over about Nah. Her naivety was a problem, added to the fact that the points Brady made seemed to go straight over her head. However, he found something strangely cute about that. In addition, he found her to be strangely attractive; he shuddered to think of anything romantic, but then again, he shuddered at any thought of romance with anyone. It was a fear he had to conquer.

Before Brady had any time to continue pondering his decision, the wooden door to the room opened. Brady looked up and felt his heart pound harder as Nah revealed herself at the other side of the door, walking in. With a bright smile, she strolled up to Brady and bowed slightly to him as he remained seated.

"So, where are we headed today, Brady?" she asked suddenly, without as much as a hello. In his usual fashion, Brady raised his eyebrow, now having to look up to Nah due to his seated position.

"_We _ain't headed anywhere" Brady answered, his mind still wracked with his conflicting thoughts. "Were you really planning on following me around all day?" Nah's face lit up with a smile, displaying her teeth once again.

"Well, of course!" she replied. Brady chuckled a little, he almost admired her staunch decisions. She didn't seem to care what he thought, but she made it seem so sweet and innocent. It was almost endearing. However, Brady knew that there was a line he had to draw; it was the only way he could clearly communicate with her.

"You don't think that's going a little far?" he asked, standing up from his seat and walking towards the swords. "Already told ya I release you from any debt you think you owe and all that malarkey" He heard Nah giggling in response, prompting him to turn around. Brady saw her controlling her giggling with a hand.

"Don't be silly" she spoke, lowering her hand. "That's not why at all! It's only natural we should be together. We're a couple"

"A couple of what?" Brady asked quickly.

It hit him. _A couple_. All the thoughts he had been contemplating, and once again, Nah had just come out and said it, right in front of him. The girl had no fear, he thought. Suddenly realizing that his composure was starting to crumble, he tried to maneuver his next words to flow with his offhand comment. "Er, and since when?" Brady couldn't stop himself from blushing at this point. "_Damn it, why'd she go and say that?_" he thought.

Nah's smile diminished slightly as she begun her explanation.

"Well, we spend all this time together, but you say we're not siblings" she explained, stepping closer to Brady. Brady decided not to step back; he wasn't ready for this conversation.

"Cause we ain't!" he parried quickly. "And what kind of crazy jump gets ya from there to bein' 'a couple'?" He moved his hands from his left to his right to illustrate his jump.

"Haven't you felt all the envious looks around camp?" Nah asked, gesturing to outside of the barracks. "The others can't help but long for the passion we share!" As Nah stepped closer to Brady, the images of the looks he had been getting flooded into Brady's head. Many of them were clicking onto the fact that the two were spending so much time together, and the looks were ones that discomforted Brady to no end.

"Gah!" he yelped as Nah approached him. "Is that why everybody's been leering at me everywhere I go?"

"They are NOT leering!" Nah scolded, stamping the floor, her mood swinging again. The anger quickly faded as Nah suddenly took Brady's hands into her own. "They're celebrating our beautiful union!"

Brady couldn't handle the pressure. Pulling his hands away, he moved away from Nah and scratched his neck, hot and itchy from the closeness he had to endure.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm losing my mind here!" he grunted to himself as he walked away. He took a deep breath, trying to retain his composure. No more, he thought. Decision time. Turning around, he looked Nah right in the eyes.

"There IS no beautiful union!" he shouted, causing Nah to retreat in fear. "And we ain't a _we_!"

There was a silence between the two as Brady heard his voice quickly echo through the room. He cursed himself silently as he looked at the open window; anybody could have heard that, he thought. Slowly, a tear started to form in Nah's eyes as sadness started to take over her body.

"…You don't have to shout" she whimpered, closing her eyes. The tear trickled down her cheek; Brady started to feel an extreme guilt coming over him as he saw what he had done. He took a step forward, but Nah stepped away from him, looking up to him. Her eyes were glistening with her tears.

"Do you really hate me that much?" she asked, unusually calm. Brady knew he had to correct his mistake; he didn't hate her at all.

"I never said that!" Brady said, his voice laced with exasperation. The impulse to give Nah a hug prompted Brady to take a step towards her, opening his arms out.

Suddenly, a great big smile appeared on Nah's face as she looked right up at Brady, surprising him.

"Then let's get married!" she said excitedly, her eyes still red from her tears. Brady gasped. He felt like rubbing his ears to see if he'd heard her correctly. Marriage? Already?  
"Slow down, would ya!" Brady protested, stepping back as Nah stepped forward towards him, her eyes suddenly filling with love. It was as if she were possessed. "I need a little time to think here!"

As soon as he spoke, her trance ended, and her body contorted in sadness once again.

"You're divorcing me?" she asked sadly. Brady felt the assault of choices tearing him down to size. He felt like screaming.

"SLOW DOWN!" he yelled, almost in fear. But Nah started to cry again, rubbing her eyes with her hands. Brady put his hands to his head, about to crack. "*sniff*…Used up and cast aside" she spoke quietly. "Who will love poor Nah now?"

Desperate not to enter the realms of absurdity, Brady attempted to clear up the situation once again. It was like trying to sweep dust in the midst of a hurricane.

"Nobody used up anybody!" Brady explained, opening his arms out in vexation. "Quit sayin' stuff that gives people funny ideas!" Brady noticed that his voice was cracking from over-exertion; he sounded far weaker than he had before. But despite his efforts, Nah confused him even more by perking up suddenly.

"Oh! Remarriage, then?" she asked.

The whole mini soap opera was too much for Brady to take. Exhausted from arguing, he slumped against the wall next to the swords and slid to the floor, his bottom hitting the dusty stone floor. Nah gasped and jumped to his side, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around his waist. Brady would have attempted to escape, but he felt too tired to bother. He considered himself defeated in their exchange. Brady would allow her to have her way with him for now.

"I have the worst headache of my life right now…" he groaned, rubbing his head. He felt Nah rest her head against his chest, looking up at him. It felt nice, he thought.

"Don't overexert yourself, Brady!" she pleaded, repositioning herself comfortably on Brady's lap. "You're in no condition to whether needless stress. Please, I'm too young to be a widow!" She placed her hand around Brady's cheek, stroking it. Brady was still too exhausted to try and retaliate. Defeated, he felt unusually brave as he looked right into Nah's eyes, their faces very close to each other.

"Just…can I have a minute here?" he pleaded quietly. "A quiet one?" He furrowed his brow to look weak, praying that Nah had an ounce of mercy in her to leave him be. After what he'd been through, his mind was setting on a decision, but he desperately needed the minute just to be sure.

But Brady saw it coming. No mercy, he thought, as Nah took a breath to continue talking.

"Don't worry, darling" she said sweetly, placing her hand back down by his waist, now sitting on his legs. She was strangely light, and left very little strain on Brady's circulation. "If it comes to that, I'll use a dragonstone to transfer my own life force to you"

"…Is that a thing?" Brady asked, hushing his voice. Feeling brave, he placed one hand upon Nah's waist. "I didn't know you could do that" Nah rested her head against Brady's chest again, still holding onto him.

"I've never tried it myself, but I heard my mother talk about it. She said it was the stone's true power…probably?" she pondered. She could feel Brady's chest pulse as he chuckled quietly.

"What was she, guessing?" he said sarcastically.

"Even if she were, I'll make it work" Nah declared, lifting her head and looking back at Brady. She could tell that he was nervous; his face was still flushed red, as was hers. Gulping, he pressed her forehead against his, staring at the scar across his eye.

"I'm prepared to give you half of my life" she whispered to him. "That's what love means to me"

Brady couldn't believe the situation that he was in. He felt intensely flattered by Nah's devotion; he could feel it winning him over. He still remained skeptical of the whole arrangement that was developing between them: they hadn't even been one day together and the prospect of marriage was looming. Brady would have never imagined marrying someone in this manner. He never imagined marrying anyone at all.

"Cheese and peanuts, this manakete love is heavy!" Brady chuckled, placing his other hand around Nah's waist, joining it with his own hand. "…Still, it feels pretty good to know someone cares that much"

Nah closed her eyes and kissed Brady softly at that moment. Brady, who had anticipated the moment, closed his own eyes, feeling his face pulsing rapidly. Her face was touching his in many places; he dared tell her that this was his first kiss. He could tell he was bad at it; he could feel her teeth. They felt smooth against his mouth; it was clear that neither knew what they were doing. But Brady knew with a bit of practice, he'd get better at it.

Parting, Brady watched as Nah's eyes twinkled from the experience. A look of mischief crept upon her face.

"Then let's tell everyone the ceremony's tonight!" she said quietly. "I always wanted to be an eight o' clock bride!" She pressed her lips together, still relishing the kiss she had just had. Brady had finally managed to predict what was coming up next. He'd figured Nah out.

"Er, there ain't no chance I'm getting you to slow down on this, is there?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. Nah shook her head, letting go of Brady and standing on her feet. Giving him one glance, she let her teeth show in a bright smile once more before she skipped out of the room, leaving Brady on the floor, exhausted and stunned from the whole experience.

And by that evening, at eight o' clock, Nah and Brady were married to each other. Bound by holy matrimony. Both Maribelle and Nowi were in tears as they watched the ceremony, whilst Frederick stood almost agape at what he was seeing. He was unable to believe that his son from the future was getting married in his present, confusing him to no end. Brady also discovered that Nah's father was Stahl, a good friend of Frederick. He was just as confused, although he appeared to be happier than Frederick about the fact his daughter was getting married.

Brady never considered himself a lucky man, but for once in his life, he was about to count himself very lucky. Being no stranger to misfortune, he couldn't help but smile when he thought about the series of misfortunes he believed he was experiencing turned out to be one of his life's greatest fortunes. For Brady, his expectations had been betrayed. He had gained a happy ending.

**After eight months of inactivity, I finally found the time and inspiration to write this fanfic. The mothers and fathers featured in this story are from my file in Fire Emblem: Awakening, I'm not sure if there is any deviation to the parents of the characters in the game or not, I've only played through the game once. Hope you enjoyed, if you did, then feel free to check out my other Fire Emblem fics, or any of my other stories :)**


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